Within the quiet ambiance of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. His carriage is naturally upright, his limbs muscular beneath a plain tee. On stage, dancers can appear like mighty deities, yet often in person they are small. This is not true for Ball, whose height is one reason for his demand for heroic characters and pas de deux work. With fine features and piercing eyes, there's a hint of Robert Pattinson about him.
An Apparent Ascent to the Pinnacle
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has advanced smoothly. Raised in Liverpool, he encountered minimal ridicule for his early interest in ballet. Joining the Royal Ballet School at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, reaching the highest position of lead dancer in 2018. He has relished taking on substantial characters, particularly the emotional turmoil found in a famed choreographer's works.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a neural fatigue."
Ball's upcoming featured role is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" series designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will guide the crowd through a part, showing his mental process during performance. Yet in more comedic ballets, the challenge is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Mental Game and After the Show Emotions
What about following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get immersed in the role, frequently I do feel self-conscious afterwards. Following Mayerling I'm always thinking: Wow, what must people think?"
Offstage, Ball is reflective, polite, and quick to laugh at himself. Yet a dance maker once observed on a "sense of suffering in him." Is there? "I am very active usually, but I do have a dark side," he confesses. "I somewhat enjoy negativity sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Formative Motivations and Artistic Inspirations
Ball's tenacity stemmed from youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to prove he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit fanatical," he remembers.
An upcoming endeavor is making his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is interesting, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He wants his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from books, compositions, and art.
Close-Up Dance and Private Dynamic
He also is interested in presenting dance in more intimate spaces. "It was just really exciting," he says of a previous experience. "You’re so near to the audience. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a human, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has made pieces with his girlfriend, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is clear. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their home company, which is perhaps beneficial. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always smooth sailing," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On social media, followers can see videos from his dance films and images that highlight a sculpted form. Does he mind that the engagement can be a bit objectifying? Not particularly. "The body is just what we work with, so I don’t feel very protective about it," he states. He compares it to viewing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on multiple ways.
Ball describes his younger self as "eager for success." Did it met his hopes? "I am conscious of how life is a separate thing to the aspirations you had as a young person," he muses. He likely has about ten years of dancing ahead. "I suppose in the future, I want to be a bit more kind with myself."
